The Landmark Arts Centre (formerly St Alban's Church) is a former church located in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

, in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

, England. It was dedicated to

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an ea ...

, the first English

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In the years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or ...

. The building, which is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, is still owned by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

but is now leased to the Landmark Arts Centre for use as a venue for concerts and exhibitions.

History

In 1683 Charles Duncombe acquired a property opposite the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Mary's Teddington from The Marquis of Winchester, and named it Teddington Place. The church was built directly opposite St Mary's Church, on part of the grounds of Teddington Place. The house, renamed Udney Hall, was torn down in 1946. The site is now the location of Udney Hall Gardens. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1887. The design of the new church, which was built in 1889 and

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in 1896, was commissioned by its first vicar, Rev. Francis Leith Boyd, who had been appointed as Vicar of Teddington in 1884 when he was aged 28, officiating at the parish church of St Mary. The church was designed in the French Gothic style by architect William Niven (1846–1921) – Niven was born in Pershore and worked with Sir George Gilbert Scott on the restoration of the chapter house at Westminster Abbey – he lived at Udney House while working on St Alban. Niven's name is engraved on the external wall at the west end of the south aisle wall. Most of the stonework is in Doulting limestone from near

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, some southwest of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells, Somerset, Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. The finer grain material used internally in partitions is

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the southwestern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 road (England), A4 national route. It is southwest of Swindon, east of ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. The internal fittings were by A.H. Skipworth. The location of the pulpit, halfway down the nave, follows the French style. Its simple canopy was replaced in 1902 by a design in carved oak, embellished by gilded representations of three orders of angels. The window on the eastern side of the north transept, featuring Jonah and the Whale, was designed by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...

and was modelled on a window in

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. The original stained glass windows mostly date from the 1890s, much of it vandalised, was by W.F. Dixon. The east window of St Alban and

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

windows (St. Peter, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John, St. Paul) are by Morris (Westminster) (1953). The window on the west wall was made in about 1850 by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...

and had been originally installed in St Peter's Church,

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

. Rescued in 1987 by the London Stained-Glass Repository of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass, it was dismantled and re-leaded for installation here in 1992. The congregation had attempted to build a massive church, based on the

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

and, though never designated as a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, St Alban's was known informally as "the Cathedral of the Thames Valley". Funds ran short, and a planned tower was never built. A wall, intended to be temporary, was placed at the west end; also, the nave is shorter than in the original design. In 1967 the church congregation reverted across the road to the historic but much smaller church of St Mary's. The building ceased to be used in 1977 and sat empty and vandalised for several years. In 1985 the video for the song " The Sun Always Shines on TV", by the Norwegian pop band

A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

, was filmed in the church building. Local residents, including Jean Brown (who started the campaign and later became President of the Landmark Arts Centre, holding that post until her death in 2011) and Irene Sutton, secretary of the Friends of St Alban's, campaigned to save the deconsecrated church and to establish it as a local community and arts centre. In 1993 the temporary wall was replaced with a permanent one as part of the adaptation of the building for its new use.

The building today

The building is now operated by the Landmark Arts Centre, an independent charity, which delivers a wide-ranging arts and education programme for the local and wider community. Its activities include arts classes, concerts and exhibitions. In addition to its classes and events, the centre is open to general visitors on weekdays from 9.30 am to 17:00 pm and a number of surviving architectural features can be seen.

References

External links

Official website: Landmark Arts Centre

Images of the church interior and in 1899

Photographs of St Mary's and St Alban's in 2016

Teddington Parish Church (St Mary with St Alban & St Peter & St Paul)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans Church Teddington 1896 establishments in England 1977 disestablishments in England 19th-century Church of England church buildings Arts centres in London Churches completed in 1896 Churches in Teddington Former Church of England church buildings Former churches in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Gothic Revival church buildings in London